Saving Private Ryan analysis

Saving Private Ryan (dir. Steven Spielberg)

The shot begins with a medium close up of Cpt. Miller who is played by Tom Hanks.. His position in the centre of the frame draws the audiences’ attention to him. After this the shot tracks back showing him as just one soldier in a group of many, some of these men are vomiting and others just have an expression of fear on their faces.

While in the boat, the camera is handheld and bobs and shakes with the movement of the boat like a real person would. This adds a realistic feel to the scene and truly portrays the nightmare that these men are going through.

Shooting Miller in a tight frame shows that he is the protagonist of the story. As well as this the fact that he has very little space to move in, reflects his feeling of impending doom. The track backwards shows that although he is quite an important character, he is just another soldier.

Because of the way Miller is framed, it shows his vulnerability as just another soldier. The tracking shot ends with a wide show of the boat, in this Miller is seen as insignificant and faces the same danger as his men, making the audience feel tense.

The next shot we see is a mid shot of the soldiers leaving the boat to storm the beach. Then moves to a POV of behind the soldiers as they are massacred by the German machine gunners.

While this shot is happening the camera is shaking and not in focus,  this adds realism to the scene, and makes the audience feel like they are watching the film through the eyes of a soldier.

Because of the mid shot of the soldiers leaving the boat and the fact that we see these soldiers get shot right in front of the viewers, creates a sense of fear and panic among the audience.

The POV shot as well, does this; it also makes the audience feel like they are the soldier adding to the realism of the scene and also empathises the nightmare that the soldiers are going through.

The next shot we see is another mid shot of the front of the boat, where the bodies of soldiers are piling up and more are being killed.

The camera again in this shot is shaking, moving and unfocused like the human eyes would be when exposes to this environment. As well as showing the expressions on the soldier’s faces as they die.

This shot shows that although the soldiers are collectively a group, they are also individuals capable of their own emotions and feelings. Because of this the audience relate to them more creating a really depressing atmosphere and effectively conveying the true horrors of war.